Wednesday, August 4, 2010

i gotta basketball jones

in 1973, cheech and chong released a song parodying the soul ballad "love jones" called "basketball jones". the song chronicles the basketball jones of a young lad named "tyrone shoelaces" (phonetically: tie-your-own shoelaces). to add to thewacktitud, the track features george harrison, billy preston, tom scott, carol king, and michelle phillips (of the mamas and the papas) on vocals as a cheerleader. the album version allegedly opens with an interview with tyrone's basketball coach, a character named "umgwana kickbooti" (phonteically: i'm gonna kickbooty), but i can't find the full version online.


here's a cartoon* by paul gruwell that accompanied the album's release in the states. stay tuned for the closing chorus for all sorts of cooky cameos.




*the cartoon was featured on the 1979 film "being there", which is how i discovered it.

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